OPINION
Nobel laureate calls on Obama, new Congress to act now
New York Times Nov 9, 08 12:11 PM CST
(Newser)
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The road to energy efficiency is paved with the same solutions needed to fix the economic crisis, Al Gore writes in a New York Times op-ed. Dismissing proposals for domestic drilling, the climate crusader says, “We simply cannot any longer base the strategy for human survival on a cynical and self-interested solution,” and offers a 5-part plan to get started now:
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Obama's plans for investment in renewable energy turn cost into benefit
Wall Street Journal Nov 7, 08 6:51 AM CST
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Barack Obama's ambitious plans to use green energy investment to rev up the economy are igniting fierce debate over the math behind them, the Wall Street Journal writes. The president-elect says $150 billion in investment will create five million jobs over the next decade, in construction and installation. Critics charge that the plan doesn’t take into account jobs lost elsewhere in the energy industry.
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glossies
Solyndra's designs can capture light from any angle
Economist Oct 12, 08 7:31 PM CDT
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A California company's new, sun-sucking glass tubes aim to solve solar power's practical problems, the Economist reports. Chief among them are flat panels that miss the sun—by looking the wrong way—and cost more than $40,000 per household to install. Solyndra's new technology uses glass tubes that capture sunlight from all sides, at about half the cost.
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Tribes on wind-rich land hope alternative energy boom will reshape their economies
New York Times Oct 10, 08 4:59 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Native Americans own some of America's most wind-rich land, and tribal leaders in South Dakota and elsewhere are working to harness the natural power to cash in on the alternative energy boom, the New York Times reports. If they are successful, the projects could work transformations similar to those casinos did elsewhere. "The same thing that brought the buffalo brings the wind,” said a leader of the Rosebud Sioux. "The wind is a gift."
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OPINION
'Heedless investment' could provoke an ethanol-like blowback, writer asserts
Atlantic Monthly Sep 28, 08 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Wind promises a practical source of renewable energy, but if the US doesn’t develop it properly, it’ll face another ethanol-like morass, warns Matthew Quirk in the Atlantic . Efforts like T. Boone Pickens’ $10 billion Texas wind farm are misguided. “Wind power is unlikely to cause a global food crisis,” Quirk writes. “But heedless investment in it may provoke blowback of a different sort.”
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Creaky infrastructure not able to deliver alternative energy to consumers
New York Times Aug 27, 08 1:58 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The nation's outdated and congested power grid is putting a damper on plans to expand renewable energy programs, the New York Times reports. Generating power from the wind and sun is becoming easier—but getting the power to consumers who live far from the country's windiest and sunniest places remains a problem.
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Wind could supply
10% of city's power under bold plan
New York Times Aug 20, 08 2:32 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Mayor Mike Bloomberg has unveiled a bold plan to harness alternative energy to power New York City, the New York Times reports. The mayor is calling for windmills to be built on the city's bridges and skyscrapers, and for offshore wind farms to be created that could supply 10% of the city's electricity in 10 years. Bloomberg has asked companies for proposals for renewable energy projects.
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OPINION
Candidate features wind turbines in ads but again skips vital energy vote
New York Times Aug 13, 08 3:25 AM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain's tough talk on energy has been undercut by his failure to vote on a vital renewable energy bill, Thomas L. Friedman writes in the New York Times . The bill, which has failed yet again to pass, would have extended tax credits for wind and solar projects, but McCain's absence—for the eighth time—is helping to stall those projects, and holding up thousands of jobs.
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Could compete with coal by 2015
Guardian (UK) Jul 27, 08 6:09 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Although known for its monstrous appetite for coal, China has spent the last few years ramping up its wind-power capacity, the Guardian reports. The amount of wind power generated has grown over 100% a year since 2005, with enormous wind farms popping up across the country. "It is huge, huge, huge," said an official from the Global Wind Engery Council.
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Scientists propose African solar farms for Europe's power
Guardian (UK) Jul 23, 08 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser)
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All of the European continent’s electrical needs could be generated by massive solar farms in Africa, scientists posited today, unveiling a plan to do just that, the Guardian reports. The proposal, which would require an area the size of Wales—insignificant in the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert, they note—is highly speculative; the biggest hurdle would likely be upgrading the European and trans-Mediterranean power grid to carry, and share, the power.
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Sees role as facilitator; says 'baby steps no longer responsible'
MSNBC Jul 20, 08 4:13 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Al Gore made his first appearance on Meet the Press since he sought the presidency 8 years ago, Politico reports, this time pushing his agenda as the nation's self-appointed energy czar. "My own best role is to try to bring about a sea change in public opinion" on environmental issues, he said, following a Thursday speech in which he called for a switch to 100% renewable energy sources by 2018. "Incremental baby steps are no longer responsible proposals."
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ANALYSIS
Some see pragmatism, others inconsistency in GOP candidate's votes
Los Angeles Times Jul 1, 08 4:38 PM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain can’t seem to settle on a comprehensible energy policy, Noam Levey writes in the Los Angeles Times , noting that the Republican has been on both sides of issues from oil drilling to ethanol. He favors fuel-efficiency standards while rejecting renewable-sources guidelines and rejects tax breaks on renewables while supporting nuclear subsidies. “There is a very sporadic pattern here,” said one environmentalist.
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